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Controversial 'Tent City' Prison In Phoenix Turns 20

One of the units at the Phoenix, Arizona, outdoor detention center known as Tent City. Temperatures in the bunks can reach 130 degrees in the summer (Jude Joffe-Block/Fronteras Desk)
One of the units at the Phoenix, Arizona, outdoor detention center known as Tent City. Temperatures in the bunks can reach 130 degrees in the summer (Jude Joffe-Block/Fronteras Desk)

This month, an unorthodox and controversial outdoor jail in Phoenix, Arizona, known as “Tent City” marks its 20th anniversary.

The facility was originally set up as a solution to jail overcrowding, but it has since become a symbol of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s get-tough law enforcement regime.

And the publicity the jail generates may be one of Arpaio’s biggest legacies.

From the Here & Now Contributors Network, Jude Joffe-Block reports from the Fronteras Desk in Phoenix.

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